No Mage's Land
by KV1789
Summary: In her struggle to pay rent, freelance reporter and aspiring author Lucia "Luci" Artecyva is forced to become a war correspondent and cover the Great War, landing her right in the middle of No Mage's Land! A hellish battlefield spanning a whole continent! Can our fledgling writer survive a crazy war in the company of equally crazy soldiers? (Inspired by BF1 and Inglorious Basterds)
1. Setting Right What Went Wrong

A soldier ran for his life as magic spells and explosions lit up the street he was running in. His entire platoon was wiped out by an Anti-Magic artillery strike as the forces of the Gaisharan Allied Forces stormed the city of Verde Vista, capital of the Unified Elzarevian States. It was only five years before, that the Elzarevian Armed Forces launched an invasion of the Gaisharan continent after the Ministry of Intelligence discovered intel showing the Gaisharans responsible for espionage and sabotage against their country. The Absolute Leader of the UES declared war against all the countries in the GAF as retaliation. Unfortunately, the invasion force was repelled after three years of fierce, unproductive fighting and a year of naval battles. Now the Gaisharans invaded the Southeast Coast of the UES and in less than a year, managed to push all the way to the capital.

As he ran, he caught a glimpse of a Fieran Royal Air Force F9 Airship, the fuselage turrets firing at the remnants of the Elzarevian Air Force who were desperately trying their best to hold it back as it flew towards the People's Palace. He made a sharp right as he ran to the outer palace gates just as an Insnian Scout Car burst through a fence behind him. He kept running straight as an anti-tank gun fired upon the car, which dodged the shot and crashed into a warehouse for cover.

"FRIENDLY! FRIENDLY COMING THROUGH!" he screeched as he approached the ornate outer south gate, which was already riddled with shrapnel. The soldiers at the barricade started firing at Parginian soldiers that were on the end of the street as he climbed over the sandbags. An officer opened a smaller door in the gate to let him in.

"Soldier! Where's your squad?!" he asked.

"THEY'RE ALL DEAD! THE GAF BREACHED THE FRONT LINES!"

"Fuck..." the officer mumbled.

"I hope the Occult Ministry knows what they're doing..." he said under his breath. An explosion blew up one of the gate's guard towers as a Nevesian AX-9 Eagle turboprop fighter flew overhead as it gained altitude and started engaging the Elzarevian fighters. The FRAF Airship was now joined by a myriad of other airships from the different air forces of the GAF, along with more fighters. Their Air Force remnants were hopelessly outnumbered now.

"SHIT! SIR! THE FIERAN TRENCHRIPPERS HAVE BREACHED THE WEST GATE! THEY'RE INSIDE THE PALACE GROUNDS!"

The officer's eyes widened in shock and fear as he looked at the communication lacrima to see the West Gate in shambles as a ragtag group of soldiers stormed in, their magic spells raining destruction on the remnants of the vanguard.

 _"Oh Great Leader, it was...an honor I suppose...to serve this glorious country."_ He thought.

"TAAAAAANKKSSSS!" a soldier from the surviving guard tower with the AT gun screamed down, interrupting the officer's thoughts. An entire tank column of Mk. III "Battering Ram" tanks were rolling down the road.

 _"It looks like this is it..."_ he thought again. "Ready the cannon! We're taking down as much of those tanks as possible!"

They only managed to destroy two when the gate was blown open.

* * *

"Lokajita, this is madness! We've barely even had time to research this spell!" a black-haired man in a black and silver military uniform with a black sorcerer's cape said to his colleague, who was in a similar uniform. He had long, white hair, tanned skin and significant muscularity.

"That spell is our only hope of winning this war, Ferrero. We have NO. OTHER. CHOICE." he said with a tranquil tone of authority. The both of them were passing through a dark corridor, which was illuminated by stained glass windows. The corridor shook as an explosion rocked the palace complex. The both of them kept their balance before proceeding.

"Miss Teresia has managed to interpret the spell as best as she could. I and the Leader have hope in her abilities," the white-haired man said.

"Just because she's an expert in Time-based Magic doesn't mean her interpretation is perfect! We have to find another way..." the other man replied while worriedly looking out a series of broken windows. He saw a large airship with a Magic Cannon mounted in its fuselage which was glowing hot. It must have been the source of the explosion.

"Enough, Ezekiel! The only other way, is to surrender to those uncultured Gaisharan pigs! I doubt you have the balls to do so, especially as a such an action would make you a traitor punishable by death."

They both stopped in front of a stone wall with elaborate carvings. The white-haired man pressed his palm on a hand-shaped carving on the wall. As he did, the carvings lit up with a bluish-white glow and the wall slowly pulled up. The two hastily stepped in as the wall closed.

 _"Ugh! I hoped it would never come to this!"_ the other man thought.

 _"Putting the entire country at risk on a spell we just managed to dig out of an old spellbook...how insane have they become?"_

They were now in another corridor which was even darker than the previous one. It was illuminated by some glowing lacrima crystals embedded in the ceiling now. On the the other end was more brightly lit room. It had a staircase leading down.

"Is everyone present at the Contingency Chamber?"

"Yes," the white-haired man replied. "The Leader is present, together with those of his Cabinet who did not flee and all of our colleagues from the Ministry."

"Good...I guess..."

Ezekiel let the other man go first as they descended down the stairwell. More explosions rocked the building, but they felt very little of them.

"The Gaisharans have no respect for the eons' worth of cultural treasures we have, do they not?" he asked.

Ezekiel could only look down.

 _"If we hadn't invaded them then maybe they would have appreciated them instead..."_ he thought.

Ezekiel himself was a high-ranking member of the Elzarevian Occult Ministry. As such, he was an Occult Mage who specialized in different kinds of magic. But even he was not privy to the true reason as to why the Leader declared war on Gaishar. Maybe it was because when the war started, he was not yet a member of the Occult Research Council, but why did they withhold the knowledge from him since the start?

After a while, Ezekiel and Lokajita reached the bottom of the steps and entered a wooden door leading to the aforementioned Contingency Chamber, a secret complex hidden in the People's Palace in the event that something that would threaten the Unified Elzarevian States' existence would occur. All the senior members of the government would have to assemble there in times like these. They entered it and were greeted by a soldier from the EAF's Special Operations Division.

"Grand Mages, sir!" he said as he saluted. The soldier was wearing what appeared to be a cross between a knight's armor and World War 2 era military gear. Most of the metal armor around the joints were removed for mobility purposes, except the knees.

"At ease," Lokajita calmly said.

"Grand Mage, I was tasked with waiting for the both of you and informing you that the Absolute Leader and the rest of our comrades are awaiting us at the Situation Room," he said.

Lokajita glanced at Ezekiel before replying.

"Then what are we waiting for? Show us the way."

After being led down a few short corridors, which looked very utilitarian and plain compared to the grandiose halls of the palace itself, they entered the Situation Room. Just like the rest of the Contingency Chamber, it was also very utilitarian-looking and plain, with faded gray walls. It resembled a very large conference room, with a lacrima screen showing a live map of the city itself. Many of its portions were obscured in the color red, marking how much territory the Gaisharan Allied Forces had occupied. The orange tint that signified the Elvarevian military marked only a tiny portion of the People's Palace.

Several surviving members of the Elzarevian Occult Ministry were in front of the screen, beside another door. Most of them were only newly-appointed Occult Mages, and they were lamenting their current situation after all those years of studying and training. The remnants of the Special Ops Division were the other people present, some sitting down on the old chairs, waiting for their inevitable last stand.

"Grand Mage Lokajita! Grand Mage Ferrero! Our senior was wondering what took you so long," a rookie worriedly said to them as they approached. She had pink hair that was tied in a ponytail that reached her lower back. She was wearing the female Occult Apprentice Mages' uniform, which consisted of a black blazer with silver trim over a white blouse, a black pleated skirt with silver trim, white stockings, black military boots, and a gray sorcerer's cape. The crest of Elzarevia was emblazoned on the cape.

"Where is your senior, Apprentice Maria?" Lokajita asked the girl just as the door opened, answering his inquiry.

"All of you. Inside," a voice said. Said voice belonged to none other than the aforementioned senior, who was Grand Mage Ulma Teresia. Teresia herself was also dressed similarly to Ezekiel and Lokajita, except she was wearing the cape over a tight black button-up dress with silver trim that reached up to her knees. She had knee-high boots on, and a belt that wrapped around her waist carried two large, round pouches on her left and right. Her long, raven-black hair was held back by a white headband, accentuating her auburn eyes and her face.

Teresia frowned as she eyed the two men as the apprentices entered, closing the door after the two had entered.

"Premier Santiago wants us to do this spell now. What were you two doing that took so pointlessly long?" she said as they walked. They climbed down another set of stairs that led deeper underground to another bunker under the Contingency Chamber.

"A bomb dropped by the Gaisharans blocked one of the corridors leading here," Lokajita said to her. "Me and Ferrero had to take a detour."

"...I see."

"Teresia...are you...sure the spell has been properly finalized? I mean...even Miss Irina had quite a difficult time," Ezekiel said to her.

"Are you...doubting me, Ferrero?" Ulma replied in a menacing tone.

"No! I'm just...concerned. For everyone who's going to take part."

"I am confident that it has been. If you do not wish to partake, then so be it. I hope the Gaisharans treat you well," Ulma said as she walked through the door at the bottom.

The room they and the apprentices entered was a large circular room. It had four doors, one of which was the door they exited. The other three led to three separate rooms. Ezekiel saw that the floor had a large circular pattern in the shape of ritual circle made out of lacrima.

 _"Wow...so this where we're performing the spell. I've heard it requires a lot of Magic Power..."_ Ezekiel thought as he looked up and saw a giant lacrima crystal ball embedded in the ceiling. It resembled a disco ball made of crystal, with some platinum embellishings bordering it. Ezekiel realized that this area was right under the tallest tower of the People's Palace, which was were the Etherano Absorption Collector for the palace's magic-powered generator was located.

"Fashionably late, Lokajita," a voice said. In the middle of the circle was the Absolute Leader and Premier of the UES, Santiago Pelaver.

"My Leader!" Ezekiel and Lokajita said as they knelt down and bowed. Ezekiel did so hastily, almost falling over unlike Lokajita, who did so with class. Ulma did the same, but with elegance.

"Rise, Grand Mages," he said. "I understand. I saw on the screen that the shortest route here was bombed. What matters is that we get this ritual underway," Santiago spoke as he turned around dramatically.

The general's uniform looked surprisingly utilitarian compared to the Grand Mages'. The only embellishments were his military awards. Pelaver himself didn't look like the expected dictator. In fact, he looked more like the general under the dictator's command. He appeared to be in his 40s when really he was actually around 55. His black hair didn't help.

"Let us not waste time. We only have little of it left," Santiago said as he motioned the apprentices to take their positions on the circle.

"Pardon me, my Leader, but I was expecting more people to be here..." Lokajita said. He noticed that only Pelaver's personal aides, and only a few of the Cabinet Ministers were present.

"Me as well. But unfortunately, it seems the Gaisharans got to most of them first. May the gods have mercy on their souls...if there were gods..." Santiago said. "Mage Teresia, we must start now."

"As you wish, my Leader," Ulma replied as she and the other two Grand Mages walked over to their respective points on the ritual circle. Ezekiel took a deep breath. This spell was supposed to send them back in time in order for them to fix what happened in the war. At least, that's what they could gather from the archaic spellbook they got it from. However, the spell was not fully translated properly. He worried that it would not work as intended or worse considering that they did not completely interpret the four pages that detailed it and its effects.

It was also discomforting to know that the three of them and the apprentices present were all that was left of the Occult Ministry, as the rest were either dead, captured or executed. Same went for the remaining SpecOps, the soldiers still fighting outside, and Pelaver and the ministers. They were all that was left of the Elzarevian government and military.

How the mighty have fallen indeed.

Everyone present stood on top of the patterned lacrima circle and under the large disco ball-like lacrima on the ceiling. The Grand Mages, Pelaver and the Cabinet ministers all held hands in a circle, while the apprentices did a similar circle around them, but with one hand on the inner circle's shoulders and another on their left's shoulder.

 _"Here goes nothing..."_ Ulma thought. "Everyone. Bow your heads, close your eyes and repeat what I say."

Ezekiel gulped. _"This is it."_

"O tempore aeterna fluit."

 _"O TEMPORE AETERNA FLUIT."_

"Mitte nos retrorsum per annos quinque."

 _"MITTTE NOS RETROSUM PER ANNOS QUINIQUE."_

"Id est ad ipsum locum."

 _"ID EST AD IPSUM LOCUM."_

"Et numisma in mundum."

 _"ET NUMISMA IN MUNDUM."_

"Ut tibi videbitur."

 _"UT TIBI VIDEBITUR."_

Nothing happened.

"Huh?" one apprentice suddenly asked.

 _"I knew this wouldn't work!"_ Ezekiel said as he mentally facepalmed.

"WE'RE DOOMED! IT'S ALL OVER!" a Cabinet official said as he panicked. Pelaver, however, was unperturbed.

Suddenly, the lacrima ball and ritual circle started gradually glowing brighter. The whole room shook violently as the center of the ceiling and floor started breaking apart, revealing a bright, bluish-white void.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" They all screamed as the whole room fell apart. Ezekiel found himself falling uncontrollably into the bright abyss.

When the Gaisharans stormed the palace, they found no trace of the room in the Contingency Chamber. Only a stairwell that led to a dead end.

* * *

 **4 years earlier...**

 **June 28, X914.**

 **Ember, Kingdom of Fiera, Gaishar**

The door chime of the Stahlern Tavern rang as another customer walked in. The tavern itself was actually quite upscale, considering that it looked like a high-class bar inside. Velvet seats, decent-looking furniture, overall cleanliness and being one of the few establishments of its kind in the working-class area of the city with a fully air-conditioned interior. Same goes for the rooms it offered on the second and third floors. It was like a small hotel, so it was no wonder why many frequented it despite the rules imposed by its owners, the Stahlern siblings.

"Gooood afternoon! How are ya today, Luci?" one of the owners and waitresses, Miranda Janus Stahlern, happily said to her friend and frequent customer, Lucia Artecyva or "Luci".

"Oh. Hi, Mira," she said as she trudged to a table and slumped on the chair. Luci was wearing a zipped-down white jacket with a pattern of a blue line that crossed her breasts and back, another pair of lines that lined her sleeves with a blue zipper, a sleeveless pink blouse underneath, dark blue jeans and black sneakers. She was also wearing a brown messenger bag that she dumped on the chair beside her as she crossed her arms on the table and buried her head. Meanwhile, Miranda was wearing a posh, red waiter's uniform.

"Awww. I take it that you're having some trouble again?" she asked.

Luci just nodded without pulling her head up. Apparently the upbeat music playing on the jukebox wasn't helping her mood.

"Let me guess...rent?"

"Yessssss..." This time she finally pulled her head up and slouched.

"I went to three different scoops around Ember yesterday...and then my landlord came over again this morning..." she said unenthusiastically. Miranda motioned a colleague to bring her a drink as she pulled a chair and sat beside her.

"Is your rent overdue?"

"Not really...maybe like two days I think..."

"What about your money?"

"My boss at the local paper said that he'd give me my paycheck tomorrow...for the sixth time."

"Seriously?"

A waiter put down a tray with a bottle of beer. Miranda pulled him over.

" _I meant water, not liquor!_ " she whispered into his ear. They both heard a pop and saw Luci drink half the bottle.

"You know, I could lend you some money again if it's that bad-"

"Oh nonono! That won't be necessary!" Luci said as she shook her head.

"I insist."

"I owe you way too much Mira! Just letting me talk to you is more than enough!"

"I don't mind! As long as Eli doesn't know it's okay. Lisa doesn't mind either. I mean look at how much we're earning! A hundred thousand wouldn't put a dent in our budget," she said as she smiled.

*CRASH*

The whole bar fell silent as Luci and Miranda looked to where the sound came from. They both spotted a pink-haired man and a black-haired man arguing.

"Watch where you're going, idiot!"

"Ah, fuck ye! You're in mah way!"


	2. The Bar Brawl of Ultimate Destiny

Luci observed that the spiky, pinkish-haired man appeared to be smashed. The same could be said for the black-haired one. The former was wearing a white scarf with a scale pattern, underneath was an unbuttoned, black polo shirt with rolled up sleeves and a white undershirt underneath that. He also had on some khaki, cargo pants and black sandals. The latter was wearing a white, buttoned up polo shirt with long sleeves. Around his neck appeared to be a cross-shaped, chain necklace and some dog tags. His legwear was a pair of denim jeans and black, leather shoes.

On the floor was a broken, glass beer mug. Luci assumed that the beer mug was the black-haired man's. The other was barely holding on to his bottle of beer, which looked like it could slip out of his fingers at any second.

"Where are you goin'? Over the fuckin' counter?" the black-haired man said as he pushed the former away from him. The pink-haired man knocked down a set of chairs as he fell down. The patrons nearby quickly got up and went towards Luci's side of the bar to pay their tabs and leave.

"Ummm...Mira? Maybe you should get Elijah over here pronto..." she said to the waitress-slash-owner. The white-haired woman quickly nodded as she stepped back and turned around to look for her brother-slash-bouncer.

The pink-haired man staggered as he stood up. "Tough guy, 'ah? Come on! I can t-take ya!" he said as he attempted to get into a drunken fighting stance. The black-haired man simply scoffed as turned away, walking slightly crookedly in the direction of Luci, who was quickly gathering her things so she could leave.

"I don't...have time for this crap..." he said as he tried to keep his balance, only for-

"OY! FASHE MEH LIKE A MAN!" the other man shouted as he threw a flaming fist at the latter. The black-haired man was barely hit as the former crashed through a wooden post.

 _"AIEEEEEE!"_ Luci screamed mentally as her eyes widened in shock. The guy was a Mage! A drunk Fire Mage no less!

The black-haired man, who was on the floor after diving at the right moment, had an eager look on his face. "So it's gunna be like dat, huh jackass?!" he said as he struggled to stand as he formed a baseball bat made out of ice in his right hand.

 _"WHAAAAAATTT?! He's a Mage too?!"_ Luci screamed in her mind again as she made a rush for the exit. Only for-

* _ **CRASH**_ _ **!**_ *

* * *

*Cue the Cancan!* (I recommend the rock version. :D )

* * *

Two halves of a table barely missed her and a few more patrons, slamming into the doors' hinges. Unfortunately, the doors were the pull-in type, trapping her and the few other unlucky guests in the main bar area.

"You an Ice Mage?! Pshaw! This is gonna be a cakewalk!" the Fire Mage boasted as he put his hands in a trumpet holding-style position in front of his mouth. Taking a deep breath, he blew a large, continuous stream of flame at the Ice Mage, engulfing him in it.

Luci and the others dove behind the bar counter and wherever they could use as cover. Luci found a familiar face taking cover there as well: Lisa, Miranda's sister.

"Lisa!"

"Luci!"

"Where's Mira?" the reporter asked amongst the sounds of ice, furniture and wood breaking filled the room.

"She's still looking for Eli! Apparently he went out to buy tissue rolls for the bathrooms!"

"Don't you have any other security here?!"

Lisa looked away uncomfortably.

 _"DAMMIT! THESE GUYS ARE GONNA KILL US!"_ Luci thought as more debris and furniture started flying everywhere. The doors were now blocked by a growing pile of broken chairs and tables. The only other way out was up, since the two drunken Mages were blocking the other entrance.

Luci turned to Lisa.

"I have an idea! Get the others upstairs!" she shouted.

"What about you?" Lisa replied as she crawled past her. Luci gave her her bag as she held up her camera.

"I'm gonna do some investigative reporting..."

As Lisa crawled over the hiding patrons and directed them towards the stairs, Luci turned on her dual-lacrima reflex journalism camera and kneeled behind the counter as she exposed her head and aimed the camera, hoping that the thick wood would protect her from any bigger debris. She was going to expose these two assholes' bullshit to the world, and hopefully ruin their lives for thrashing her friends' bar, threatening people's lives and making her bad mood even worse.

Meanwhile, the Ice Mage was defending himself from the flaming, multi-fist barrage the Fire Mage was throwing at him with some ice gauntlets. He successfully managed to parry almost all of them until a punch in the gut broke through his defense, burning his lower shirt and knocking the wind out of him, followed up by a flaming uppercut which threw him on a table.

"Just give up already, man! We both know imma win this!" the Fire Mage boasted as the Ice Mage picked himself up. The pink-haired firebreather was standing triumphantly, confident in himself that this cold-ass motherfucker was nothing compared to him. After all, his grandfather taught him all the tricks!

The Ice Mage spat to his side as he got on a knee.

 _"I guess there's no holding back now, asshole"_

He slammed his hand on the ground in front, ice emerging from the floor around the Fire Mage's legs and encasing them. The former was taken by surprise.

"Hey waitaminute-" he thought as he looked down after feeling some sudden cold surrounding his legs, not noticing the Iceman stand up and clasp his hands together in front of his chest. He opened his arms swiftly, with multiple large icicles materializing around the Fire Mage, pointed straight at him.

"ICICLE STORM!"

The icicles flew towards the Fire Mage in the blink of an eye. The Mage was faster however, alighting his legs with flames, breaking out of the ice to dive and roll forward, the icicles missing as he used the momentum to make a mad dash towards the Ice Mage. His arms were surrounded in fire, trailing as he jumped and fired a large blast at his opposite-element counterpart, who blocked it with a shield of ice which formed into an ice polearm which he used to swat the Fire Mage out of the air.

"Finally! A REAL fight!" he exclaimed as he caught the polearm as it was thrusted in his direction. He pulled it towards himself, stepping aside as his opponent staggered, and threw a flaming punch to his face, at the same time firing a large blast of fire which sent the Ice Mage flying once more. He crashed into another wooden column.

"Maybe ye aren't as weak as I thought you Ice Mages were, buddy!" the human flamethrower said as he rubbed his fist, which was becoming sore. Suddenly, a thick cage of ice sprang up around him.

"What? Yer kiddin' me!" the Fire Mage amusingly reacted as the cage was clearly not enough to hold him. What he didn't expect was for the ceiling and floor to lower and rise instantly, seemingly crushing him.

The Ice Mage got up and dusted himself off. Meanwhile, behind the counter, Luci had managed to take a crap ton of pictures of the two fighting. Although, this time she looked through the lens in speechless shock. Did he just kill the other man?!

"Guuhhh...and dat's...the end of dat..." the Ice Mage mumbled as he stumbled over to the counter.

"Hello? Waitress? Augh...how much for...how many did I down again...n-nine? Nine beers?" he muttered as he supported himself by leaning on the counter. Luci froze, hoping that he would be too drunk to bother looking over.

Then they both heard the ice cracking.

"GRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

The man who Luci thought got crushed to death, and the man who the Ice Mage thought he subdued, was literally on fire as he burst out of the icy prison.

"Awww come ON!" the Ice Mage said as he slammed a fist on the table.

The human flame was completely engulfed in fire as one hand was balled into as fist as he pointed a finger at the Ice Mage.

"DON'T UNDERESTIMATE A ROYAL FIRE MAGE!" he screamed confidently. Luci peered out and gulped. Here they go again!

"Royal schmoyal...can we hurry up? I still have shit to do..." the Iceman boredly said as he dusted his shoulders and cracked his fingers. His opponent wasted no time in charging at him again.

The Ice Mage formed a wall of thick ice in front of him. His flaming opponent crashed through it without missing a beat, forcing the former to create a thicker ice dome around himself. The Fire Mage started punching the dome at near-blinding speed. In response, the Ice Mage launched a pillar of ice from under his opponent, sending him through the ceiling.

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" the people screamed as the Fire Mage recovered mid-air and used his flames to propel himself back at the Ice Mage, creating a moderate explosion on the ground floor.

Luci grabbed the counter to keep her from violently hitting the cabinet, which fell on the counter, fortunately leaving a decent space for her to crawl through.

Outside, Miranda and her younger brother-slash-bouncer, Elijah, neared the progressively collapsing Stahlern Tavern. The ripped man was dressed in a black jacket with large, gold letters that spelled "Bouncer" on the back and some denim jeans with a chain for his wallet. His whitish hair was styled in a spiky flat top, a hairstyle he adopted after he became the bar bouncer.

"Holy mother Thera! The hell are these guys?" he exclaimed as they got nearer.

Mira was speechless as they closed the distance to one of the blocked doors.

"Ugh...I'd prefer it more if it were just two normal guys fighting WITHOUT Magic. That's how real men settle differences!" Eli said as he peered through one of the wrecked windows. The two were still at each other's throats among the now partially burning remains of the main bar area.

"The ice guy has some balls fighting without a shirt! Or anything else on though!"

"Eli!"

"Sorry, sorry. Now let' see about getting inside..." the bouncer said as he examined the debris blocking the door.

"Mira?"

"Yes, Eli?" the worried waitress asked as she looked on.

"Why didn't you guys call the police?"

"Well, umm...they weren't using magic when I left to find you..." she said as she looked down in shame.

"Ehhh...that's...understandable, I guess. I'm afraid we can't bust through these without hurting ourselves."

The debris was too thick, so the two decided on the side entrance, which was much closer to the fighting and only blocked because of it.

"You take cover, Mira. I'm afraid I'll have to kick these doors down to get their attention!" Eli said as he readied himself while Mira hid behind a mailbox.

"HI-YAAAHH!" he shouted as the doors were blown open with such force that they were sent flying towards the two combatants.

"GAAH!"

"OWW!"

The Fire and Ice Mages were hit by the doors. It didn't knock them down, but it made them stop fighting for a while.

"WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU DOING YOU MOTHERFUCKERS?!"

"Ha?"

"HEY! DIS IS BETWEEN ME AN'-"

The Fire Mage was silenced by a left hook to the face, knocking him out immediately. The Ice Mage, dazed, was K'Oed by a right backhand, spreading him face-down on the floor. Eli, breathing heavily, had his attention piqued by the sound of a camera shutter clicking.

"Huh?" he said as he looked in the direction. He saw Luci behind the ruined counter holding her camera.

"Luci? What are you doing back there?" the ripped bouncer asked as he wringed out his hands.

"Taking pictures?"

"Of these clowns?" Eli said as he chuckled. "Why?"

"I'm planning to expose these two on the paper for endangering the safety of everyone here," the blonde reporter said smugly.

"I thought it was just for a bigger paycheck. Step away from the counter. Let me clear it out before you climb over," Eli said as he took a broken chair leg to wipe off the wood splinters and broken glass.

"That's also another why," Luci said as she clambered on top of it before Eli helped her down.

"Hello? Eli is that you down there?" Lisa called from the second floor.

"Yeah! The two're just...takin' a nap!" he shouted back up. Lisa quickly got to telling the trapped customers that it was safe now to go downstairs.

Luci took the time to survey the area while taking more pictures of it. The main bar was trashed completely. The counter was very damaged, but it still held up. Broken glass, splintered wooden furniture, torn cotton pillow fillings and velvet pillow cases, spilled liquor, and melted ice. And I have mentioned that parts of the area was on fire?

She approached the two, unconscious Mages on the floor. While everyone was assisting the patrons outside, she rummaged through their pockets to find some form of identification. She managed to get their wallets, although she had to find the Ice Mage's pants as he was only in his boxers. Fortunately it was just beside them together with the rest of his clothes.

 _"When did he have the time to strip?"_ Luci wondered as she first opened the Fire Mage's wallet. He didn't have a lot of money, but it was still quite plenty so she secretly pocketed it. She found his ID, and was shocked to discover that it was a Fieran Royal Army ID.

 _"Oh. My. God. This is gonna go national."_ she thought. The Fire Mage was Private Nathaniel D'Ignazio of the Royal Fire Mage Corps.

She went through the other man's. Of course, not so much money, but she still pocketed it. His ID showed that his name was Private Gavril Fellbern of the Ice Magic Corps.

 _"Both of these guys are Army? Ohohohohoho! This is just way too good!"_ she thought. Of course these two were in the Army. Probably in the reserves or on leave as it was required for all Mages to join after the guild system was abolished almost a century ago for giving too much freedom to the guilds in their actions, which usually resulted in vigilantism or collateral damage (Which was mostly unanswered, much to the chagrin of the governments).

Many people's grandparents have spoken about this period of time. It was known to all that things were still much simpler back then, but also much slower. Survival of the fittest was the norm in the poor regions, not to mention that the divide between rich and poor was much greater compared to the present, where it was somehow blurred. Wars were frequently fought between nations through the guilds, but one notable thing that was the result of those wars was the near-universally dreaded _Unified Elzarevian States_.

The Western continent of Talkhasia was once like the continent where the Kingdom of Fiera was located in, Gaishar, in the fact that it used to have separate states. During the Guild Wars period, one of the countries there was the origin of what would become the UES, a state called Elzarev. It's ruler wanted peace between all the countries in the continent, but a majority of them, whose names are now lost to time (But definitely not the Elzarevians), did not care and continued fighting for territory and resources. The countries that did allied with Elzarev and eventually the two factions went to war with the "warmonger" states. It lasted up until the end of the era, when the guild system was universally abolished. To make up for this, the allies of Elzarev and the country itself united to become Elzarevia and continued the fighting against the now somewhat-weakened enemy states.

The real creation of what would evolve into the UES started when the rebels from the Tsardom of Skyapole in Gaishar fled there in secret after the failed Decembir Rebellion. The political structure of Elzarevia needed strong people due to the sudden merger of countries. The rebels took advantage of the situation and eventually under their influence, brutally crushed the opposing states. After assimilating them, they built up their military and conquered the other states in the south.

Since then, the UES have maintained a closed border with the rest of the world. Most information about the country comes from defectors or refugees, who tell stories about the UES that have molded their current reputation to the rest of the free world: a terrifying totalitarian society, composed of psychopaths, murderers, rapists and genocidal maniacs all in positions of power. The government so riddled with corruption that the officials kill each other to reach the highest position, Premier or Absolute Leader. They have no morals when it comes to science and magic. Human experimentation and Black Magic, forms of Magic considered taboo by the world, were commonplace. The people? All conditioned to serve the Army in times of war, no questions asked due to the brainwashing being so deeply rooted that even the offspring would be loyal. So in a sense, the entire population WAS the army.

Although, nowadays, that was changed slightly by the recent contact with a delegation sent to Gaishar after years of isolation. The current Premier, Santiago Pelaver, wanted to assuage the fears of the people by attempting to correspond with the Gaisharan League. It would of course take some time for both the Elzarevians and the Gaisharans to get along, but all those unprejudiced hoped that this would be the start of a new era, where talk of impending war would soon be replaced with those of friendship and harmony.

Police sirens neared until a fleet of emergency vehicles composed of two police cars, a police van, an ambulance and a firetruck arrived, since Lisa and the patrons called emergency services via the phone upstairs. Officers interviewed the traumatized people as paramedics treated those who were barely scraped by the debris thrown around by the two drunks. Firefighters hosed down the parts of the building that were burning.

"Holy shit! When we were called here we were expecting a normal fire, not a warzone!" a firefighter commented as he adjusted the water valve for a nearby fire hydrant.

"You should have been at the incident at the military academy a few days ago. Can't believe one guy turned the whole training area into a scorched battlefield..." another replied as he tightened the hose.

"I heard they're using it as a simulated battlefield now. At least it didn't go completely to waste!"

The three laughed as a cop approached Luci, Mira, Eli and Lisa to question them on what happened.

"This was all because of a 'bar brawl'? Are you sure those two weren't bandits?" he asked, astonished that two magic users could completely wreck a floor and a half of a three-story building.

"Yes!" the three siblings cried in frustration. Mira couldn't help but cry as the other two comforted her.

"They weren't just any ordinary people though," Luci said as she showed the two IDs to the cop, who took off his cap and took a closer look.

"Fieran Royal...oh my God...this is going to be complicated..." he muttered as he wiped his forehead.

"I have pictures if you need evidence," she said as she showed him the photos on the lacrima screen of her camera.

"Very fortunate of you to have a camera with you, Miss...?"

"Luci. Just call me Luci, officer."

"These'll prove useful as evidence to present to the MPs. They're usually very adamant that their Mages aren't capable of this magnitude of violence."

"Can I still keep them? Need 'em for a write up for the paper."

"You a reporter? Nightly? Spyglass?"

"The Times, sir."

"The Fiera Times! I'm surprised that you guys are still afloat after all these years!" he exclaimed as he chuckled. Luci looked down in disappointment.

"Joking! Joking! Heheheheh. I'm proud to say that I still read your paper. Too much sensationalist bullshit on every paper but yours."

Luci and the Stahlern siblings were escorted to the van to be taken to the nearest ECPF station to file a blotter report. Nathaniel and Gavril were loaded onto stretchers which they were handcuffed to, both hands and legs, and were loaded into the ambulance. The rest of the civilians were all ordered to give their contact information in case of an investigation.

* * *

 **JUNE 29, X914  
**

 **THE FIERA TIMES**

 **The truth delivered daily  
**

 **ARMY MEN TRASH BAR IN EMBER**


	3. The Calm Before the Storm

"Well, Luci. That was one hell of a report you made!" Ceri Tifaid (Pronunciation: Tee-fah-eed), Luci's senior editor, said as she looked over a freshly, published copy of the Times' with Luci's story as the headline. The Fiera Times was a newspaper that prided itself on being impartial, unbiased and truthful in reporting on the events that took place in Fiera, Gaishar and even what came from Talkhasia. Before, it used to be one of the most read news publications in the country, but due to the recent popularity of exaggerated rumors from the UES becoming widely-known, newspapers like the Times started losing readers to tabloids like the Fieran Nightly, which often reported things such as gossip and entertainment news, and the Spyglass, which mostly reported speculations and conspiracies, alongside more "factual" did-you-know segments.

Thankfully, there were still people who read the Times, but due to how less they were compared to the tabloids (Mostly since the readers were already middle-aged to seniors) the paper only gets enough earnings to maintain itself. Thanks to the article regarding the fight between two Army mages, the paper managed to get more than the usual amount of daily sales.

"The title sounds like something the Nightly would publish, but that's literally and truthfully what happened! I wish our other articles would get as much attention..."

Luci sat back on the chair in Ceri's office, with a wide smirk. She finally did it! She managed to get one of the biggest scoops ever! Looks like her future as a writer wasn't a fantasy after all!

 _"I wonder if you're reading the paper today, daddy. I told you studying literature isn't a waste of money!"_ she thought to herself. Back when she was much younger, her father would always attempt to dissuade her from taking the course in college. Mostly in order to convince her to take over the family company. Running a company was not something Luci wanted to do, or even have the skills to do so. Mostly because she was more interested in writing and traveling.

"This kind of behavior among the mages is very alarming, considering almost every magic user here is technically in the military or in the reserves. You'd think they'd act more mindful how powerful they are..." Ceri said, sighing as she plopped herself down on her chair behind her desk.

"Sooo...Ceri? My...uhh..." Luci mumbled as she looked aside in anticipation. It was already three days since her rent was due, and she was hopefully expecting her paycheck today to get her landlord off her back.

"Oh, right. Your payment for contribution...I'll ask the boss if we can issue it today. I know your rent is...well, yeah," Ceri said as she trailed off, knowing that talking more about rent would ruin the mood. "We'll call you if it's approved, or I can have it sent to your address if you'd like."

Luci sighed in relief.

" _Thaaaaank you soooo muuuuch,_ Ceri..."

"Ahaha...it's no big deal, Lu. Though I'd like to ask. Why don't you move to a cheaper apartment? I mean, just sayin'..."

"Well, I don't have enough money to...well...move to somewhere else..." Luci said as she looked down while playing with a lock of her hair. "I also kinda like my apartment. It's pretty decent, compared to the other apartments here..."

Ceri rubbed her chin. "Well if that's the case..." she said as she stood up. "...anyway, I'd like to congratulate you once more for actually making it to the headline! I'll try to have your payment as soon as possible."

Ceri walked over to the door as Luci followed, getting the hint that their conversation was over.

"Keep your feet on the ground, girl! And don't push yourself too hard! You won't be able to write if you're exhausted like hell."

Ceri beamed a smile as Luci walked out. The door was gently closed behind her. She felt relieved that her paycheck would be coming soon, so that her issues with rent would be finally over.

For this month, at least.

* * *

 **The Academy of the People**

 **Verde Vista, Unified Elzarevian States, Talkhasia**

"Very good, children! I told you all that adding wasn't hard. Now, please get your notebooks and pencils. We'll have some seatwork to see how well you understand."

Irina Selveria took a look at her large notebook, which was hovering beside her, to check what seatwork she prepared before writing it on the blackboard. The kindergarten students chatted with each other as they retrieved their school supplies from their satchels. As she started to write, two knocks were heard from one of the two doors of the classroom.

"Excuse me, children! Miss Rina's got a visitor, so please behave. You may start answering right after I'm done writing," Irina said, getting the children's attention with a few claps. She went to door as the chalk continued moving on its own to write down the seatwork.

"Yes?" Irina asked as she opened the door. She was greeted by none other than Grand Mage Achnyuta Lokajita. Unlike before, Lokajita was now dressed in a more extravagant set of clothing. His uniform was now colored pure white, with gold embellishments. The cape was now a light gray, with the symbol of Elzarevia emblazoned on it, the cape itself fastened onto him with diamond clips. His long, white hair slicked back and tied back with a low ponytail.

"Oh, why hello Achi. What brings you here?" she asked. "I'm in the middle of a class right now. Is there something important?"

Lokajita looked aside, taking a deep breath before speaking, "The Leader requests a report on your research."

Irina sighed.

"Is it...is it urgent? Because, well...the children..."

"Perhaps I shall speak with you once your classes for today finish. Will that be alright?" Lokajita asked.

Irina looked at him gratefully.

"Later. At five in the afternoon. Meet me at the campus park," Irina said before stepping back into her classroom.

"Understood, Miss Selveria. I'll be waiting."

* * *

Achnyuta waited on a bench. Students of the People's Academy passed him by, paying their respects by bowing to him due to his high status as a Grand Mage of the Ministry of the Occult. In return, he simply nodde to each of them.

A some time passed and park slowly became sparsely occupied. It was only when the sun started to set when Irina arrived.

"Achi!" Irina called out as she rushed to the Grand Mage. "I'm so sorry! I forgot that I scheduled a counseling session earlier!"

Achnyuta stood up as she stopped, clutching her hat to stop it from flying off.

"Well, what matters is that you're here. And fortunately, there isn't a lot of people here. So we can talk without any interruptions."

"A walk, madam?" he asked her as he started to walk in a direction.

Irina sighed and smiled at him. "Of course, Achi."

Irina walked beside him and slipped her arm around his left. They proceeded down a cobblestone walkway lined with shrubs and flowers.

"Please don't tell me you spent the whole day on that bench."

"Of course not. I did a few errands of my own in the meantime. Why do you ask?"

"Just...ehh...trying to make a joke. To lighten the mood, considering what we're both here to talk about."

They continued walking along in silence before Achnyuta spoke up.

"Now. How goes your research into the spells?"

It's...it's progressing steadily. I could make faster progress with my team, but that would compromise my schedule as a teacher..."

"Ah...I see."

"I'm...sorry for making you and Our Leader wait too long. I'll try to write up a full report tonight for Him."

Achnyuta shook his head.

"That won't be necessary, Irina. Although I'm afraid..."

He hesitated and took a deep breath.

"...I'm afraid you're going to have to reschedule your classes to maximize what little time you have. I know you enjoy teaching children so much, but this is for the good of the country."

Irina looked down and sighed.

",,,Alright, Achi. I understand."

They continued walking, turning left towards another walkway lined with lacrima streetlights. They witnessed several students heading to the school cafeteria for their dinner in the distance as the sun started to set.

"May I ask you a question, Achnyuta?" Irina said to the dark-skinned man.

"Of course you may."

"This might be quite a weird thing to ask but: Why the rush? It's not like something terrible's going to happen soon. We're finally making contact with everyone on Gaishar and it looks like the world is doing very well for the most part."

Irina did not notice Achnyuta's face sadden upon hearing her. He was aware of what was about occur the next day and knew that he could not bring himself to tell his colleague of nearly a decade, who died at the hands of a Gaisharan miitary unit during their push to Verde Vista. She would not believe him.

But what mattered was that he and the rest from the future now realized the mistakes they made, and they were not going to make the same mistakes twice in the impending war. Irina's research needed to be completed sooner just in case preparing was not enough.

"Our Leader is interested in the applications of Time Magic for a multitude of tasks. In particular, the medical applications."

"Ooooh! Of course! Why didn't I think of that?" Irina said as she facepalmed.

"Dang it, Irina! You're researching Magic and you don't even think about how it could be used...!" she muttered.

"No need to beat yourself up over it, Irina," Achnyuta said as he looked at her while walking. "Even I myself got confused over how I could use my Magic when I was learning how to control it in my youth."

 _"I'm sorry, Irina. I won't let you suffer the fate I've seen. Even if it means hiding the truth from you..."_ he thought as he looked at the sunset.

"Hmm. As expected, the sunsets of Verde Vista are always as beautiful as ever."

"Didn't you use to live on a mountain? I thought the views were better where you came from?" the red-headed Mage teacher asked.

"Each place has its own charm. I enjoyed the views, but it was always so cloudy where I came from."

"So sunsets are rare where you're from, huh?"

"Well, in layman's terms, I suppose you could say yes. They are."

Irina pulled his arm closer to her. Achnyuta could feel her chest pressing against it.

 _"Ah!"_

"I'll do my best with the Time Magic, Achi. So since we're already near the cafeteria, why don't we have dinner now? I hear they're serving cake tonight! Hope it's strawberry!"

Achnyuta scratched his head and smiled, something the stern-faced man rarely ever did.

"Of course, Irina."


End file.
